Last week, I was excited to get a great deal on an item we needed. After I bought it, God strongly prompted me to give the item to a friend who is going through a difficult financial situation.
I struggled to follow the prompting as I knew this was an item we needed and I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to find a good deal on it again for awhile. But I gave it to my friend, because I just knew in my heart that was what I was supposed to do.
There was so much joy in giving this item to my friend and I realized that I could always pay full-price if I had to because following what God called me to do was more important than saving money, anyway.
In the mean time, I knew we could live a little while without the item, so I figured I’d hold off as long as I could and see if another great deal came along.
Well, not two days later, someone emailed me out-of-the-blue and said they had a package they wanted to send to me and could I please email them my new address?
Can you guess what arrived in that package yesterday? The exact same item I’d given to my friend — only this was a bigger and better version.
Truly, you can’t out-give God!
I realize my story is a small one. We’ve recently experienced another set back in that it’s likely that my husband won’t be getting financial aid this school year, setting us back $1100 a month we needed just to get by. We’ve (I’ve) really wanted a confirmation that we should still continue to send my daughter to parochial school, even though it would be less than the costs of transportation, day care etc., when she wasn’t in kindergarten in the public school. Well today, we visited the school, and someone had had it on their heart to drop off four uniforms and a school sweatshirt – which I was given at the “school spirit” stand! I couldn’t believe it!
Such an awesome testimony!
Crystal,
Thank you for sharing your story. A while back I had found a beautiful skirt at a thrift store. It was absoutely gorgeous! I loved it. It was very feminine and originally quite expensive. However the Lord told me to give it to my Pastor’s wife. I too protested in my heart. (I am sooooo thankful our God is so longsuffering with us).
I struggled for nearly a week. It layed across the chair in my bedroom and it became a thorn in my side every time I saw it. Finally I gave in and confessed to the Lord my sin. I was able to willingly and graciously give her the skirt with God’s grace. She loved the skirt and was very grateful for it.
About 2 weeks later a friend of mine called (I believe I would have received the blessing much sooner but God was waiting on me!) and said
“I have a surprise for you and you are going to think it is Christmas” She delivered 3 garbage bags full of very high end clothing and jewelryto me. There were many labels in there that I could never afford!
That was about 2 years ago and I am still wearing many of the beautiful things I was given. My Pastors wife is still wearing the beautiful skirt. I am so thankful to be serivng a God who can bless us above anything we ask or think!!
~Blessings~
Michelle
What a great story; thanks for sharing!
Aren’t you glad you obeyed God’s prompting? You were blessed when you gave and blessed again when someone gave to you. Our God is great and always knows what is best for us…too bad we don’t always have the faith to step out and do what He calls us to do. Thank you for your wonderful reminder that God’s ways are ALWAYS best!
Fabulous! What a great example of God’s goodness!
One of my favorite things about couponing is being able to give so freely. After almost every trip, I drop by someone’s house and give them part of what I just “bought.” It is the best feeling! Or when you overhear someone say they are out of something and you have a ton of it, you can just give them a few. Or when you are out and see someone about to pay $10 for a package of diapers and you have a $3 coupon for those same diapers. I could go on and on, but the thrill of being able to give is better than the thrill of getting the deal.
Praise the LORD! What a wonderful testimony of His faithfullness!
Thank you for the beautiful post. I love it here!
What a great reminder! I love your closing statement, “
God is good…all the time! I love it when He does this. We act in obedience and He is a Father who provides for His children!
Amen, and Amen!
God is good!
That’s so great Crystal! We always need reminders that you can’t outgive God. You just can’t. I’ve had many things like this happen to me as well, but I have to admit, I had forgotten. Thank you for the reminder!! 🙂
Now if our government could just learn that it’s much more fun to give than receive!!! It’s always so much fun to obey the Lord and see what He is going to do next.
Thank you for sharing! God used both your post and someone my husband talked to yesterday to confirm to us we are doing what he wants.
My husband and I live by 100% tithe in a way. Not that we give everything away but that we see whatever we have as His and give when He leads us to.
Right now we are significantly in debt and my husband brings in less than we need. He is about to give notice at his job, too! In 3 weeks we are moving halfway across the country and will not be bringing pretty much any of our possessions… at the Lord’s prompting! We are going to ship a few boxes ahead and take what will fit in our minivan with our 3 kids. To top it off we have no job or home lined up to go to! Sounds crazy, eh? We really feel the Lord leading us to do this. We have asked him a billion times if we are being foolish, but he keeps reassuring us to walk by faith, not by sight.
As for all of our stuff – he told us to sell none of it and give it all away! Both my husband and I felt led to give our (fairly new) high efficiency washer & dryer to our elderly neighbor. I have to admit it was hard for me to choke it out when I offered it to her because I was thinking how we could sell them and get some money, but I followed what the Lord was leading me to do. She was so incredibly blessed! I am so glad I was obedient. 🙂 I have never seen her so happy!
God is faithful. We can’t out give him! My husband & I are going through a wonderful and difficult time right now. The Lord has promised us He will provide abundantly and certainly nothing is too hard for Him! The really hard part for us is waiting and trusting Him. We so appreciate what He is having us go through & learn, though!
He’s right on time… as usual. As they say in my Churcy = Yay God!
God is SO gracious and THE ultimate giver of good things! Praise the Lord for your testimony!
I am a single mom working two jobs and money is tight. I know I need to have more faith and that I need to turn it over to God, but I admit that it’s hard when there are more bills than money. Anyhow, I got paid today, and realized that I have not made a contribution to my local animal shelter in months. I wrote them out a check for $50 today, knowing that I could really use that money towards bills. I decided to give the money anyhow. A little while ago I logged onto my bank account and was shocked to see a deposit for $80 for a reimbursement for some medical expenses. God is good, and God does provide. I needed that reminder today.
How cool is that?! Thanks for sharing!
Love this story and have found it so true in my own life. We cannot out-give God!
Crystal,
This is such a great story, and I am so glad you shared it!!
I was just talking to a friend of mine last night who had a very similar thing happen to them, except they gave a large sum of money (and they live paycheck to paycheck, but felt God was telling them to do it and trusted He would provide). Within 3 days they received a check for the exact amount they had given from someone who no idea what they had done. God is so amazing!!
At the beginning of this week I wrote a post on my blog on wanting to have a genuine faith and be able to share without a shadow of doubt with others why I believe what I do (I hate to do a plug, but if you’re interested you can read it here: http://bit.ly/be5YXc ). In the few short days since that post, God has revealed so many amazing things he’s done that I look around and think “How could I not believe?”.
I guess I say all of that to say, thank you for sharing. God is so much bigger than the box we try to fit him into. As Philip told Nathaniel, we just have to come and see for ourselves. 🙂
I cannot even tell you how many times the lord has put the people in my path whom I absolutely need at that particular point to help me in my journey! Thank you so much for reaffirming my faith with your posting, you are a gift to all of us!
This truly is the best thing I’ve read all week! It is an awesome testimony to how good God is to us! People don’t take time to realize the small blessings receive for the small things we do! Crystal… beautiful!
That’s so awesome! What a great story, thanks for sharing! 🙂
This is so encouraging. I love when you post things like this and I’ve loved reading the comments too.
Our God is so BIG…thanks for sharing…I got goose bumps reading the post. Such an encouragement to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit when prompted. I think it’s amazing how you can bless a person in need, but somehow your the one who ends up being blessed even more..PTL!
Isn’t God cool!?!
I’ve had your site on my favorties for a while, but it wasn’t until today that became my favorite! I’m not a church goer, but I have a lot of faith and love for God. I believe he had truly blessed our family, but it takes sacrifices to see that God is with you. Our son was diagnosed with Autism in 2004, my husband lost his job, I got hours cut and we were struggling pretty bad to make ends meet while living in NY. My husband and I got a very strong feeling that we needed to move away – and out of the blue Colorado came to mind… I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, and he in NY, so this was a surprise to everyone – they called us crazy, where betting that we were going to be back in a year and gave us no support.
We moved here, with no jobs, no friends or family, just our 3 y/o and our car. A month later, I got a very good government job and realized I was pregnant, 8 months later, had my baby got a promotion and we are doing great. I’m starting a small business, our now 2 y/o boy is developing normally and we plan to buy a house in the next year! We have grown so much as a family, we have matured and we feel happy! Now family wants to visit and move here – and we are welcoming them!
God is amazing!
Thanks so much for sharing! It’s exciting to hear what God is doing in your life!
@Yailis, Thanks for sharing! I am happy to hear things are going so well for you now! How awesome that you heard and obeyed the Lord. My husband & I are about to move across the country with our 3 children, van & a few boxes. (We feel prompted by the Lord to do so.)
We are not “church goers” either. We truly desire to follow God in everything, though. I don’t believe the first is a requirement for the second. 🙂
I just wanted to mention that I do believe Scripture is clear we are not to “forsake the assembling of ourselves with other believers”. I also believe that it is very clear from the New Testament that God intended for Christians to live in a Body. We need the accountability, edification and encouragement of other believers. So if you’re not currently a part of a body of believers, I’d very much encourage you to find one to be apart of. There is so much blessing, rich fellowship and “sharpening” which comes from it!
God’s just AWESOME like that! Luv how He works! Pays to listen to Him & most importantly OBEY Him! 🙂
Amen to that!!
Thank you for sharing your story. Sometime we need to me reminded of How God is good..ALL THE TIME!!!
God is good!
Mary Ellen
I just wanted to say that I loved reading these stories. I am struggling right now with my faith and it’s a great encouragement to see how God works. My question is though, how do you “hear” or “feel” God prompting you to do something. I try to “listen” but honestly I can’t hear a thing. I wish I knew what God’s path was for me and I guess that’s the part I struggle most with. Any advice?
I think it’s different for everyone. For me, it’s often just a still, small voice in my heart encouraging me to do something. Like, I was at the grocery store the other day and I walked past a woman who was on the phone crying and very upset about something. Immediately, my heart was prompted by the Lord to go over and say something to her when she was off the phone. I just offered her some of my coupons so she could get some free groceries and just tried to smile and let her know someone cared about her.
My best encouragement to you is to spend time every day reading God’s Word and praying — the closer your relationship with the Lord, the easier it is to know His will for you and hear His still, small voice in your heart saying “This is the way, walk in it.”
amen!
I never tire of hearing stories like this! Thank you so much for sharing, Crystal. I love to see God spring into action in the life of someone whose heart is yielded and obedient to Him! Enjoy your “item”.
Wow, God is so good! Thanks for sharing. I appreciate your personal stories so much too.
What a great inspiration to read this morning!! Not only the original post but all the comments too! Great is The LORD!!
Awesome, thank you and others for sharing your stories. 🙂
AWESOME! I can’t even count the number of times something similar has happened to us. We definitely serve an amazing God!
Last night I was cleaning closets and going through my stockpiles and filling bags for giving away…HUGE bags for relatives, a lady on social security I support monthly with my couponing skills, the food shelf and an organization I give to that helps people in Haiti. I was overwhelmed and had to stop and pray to thank God for the PRIVELEDGE to be able to give…we are not rich. We have been plagued with financial trouble always–we are used to it–my husband has lost his job 4 times in 15 years and has had to start over at half his income each time –(Never his fault–always due to the bosses mismanagement and losing a company!) but God doesn’t promise abundance–just what we need and I am overwhelmed with the joy of giving. I have always asked God to help me GIVE and I happened upon heavy couponing a couple of years ago–always couponed just didn’t know how to break the 40% barrier…so I was in the middle of my piles and stopped to thank Him…because it is JOY to give and to contribute to other’s…I haven’t any creative talents in the midst of a family with many and this is mine finally…
I am grateful to all the bloggers like you that have helped me get over that 40 % savings to 90% so I can give to others!
What a great story to start my day – thank you! God always provides and it’s hard to remember that as we try so hard to provide for our families. Thank you for the reminder!
Thank you Crystal for the wonderful reminder for all of us to keep god first and listen to what our heart is telling us. And thank you to all the other readers for there wonderful stories of giving also!
Awesome story. He does work in great ways!!
WOW – I needed this. My husband and I have both always worked full-time but lately we have been having these feelings that one of us should be at home with our boys. Although their grandparents watch our children, we have been feeling that a parent needs to be home. We have been living a very comfortable lifestyle with 2 incomes, but now we are planning on having my husband stay home in September, we are trusting that God will take care of us!
@Kelly, My husband has been home with our boys for almost 3 years now. Our oldest has Autism, and the little one barely turned 2 a week ago – we are new in the State and have no one of trust to watch them. God has provided to us. I have a decent job, just below 50k and we are doing fine, I go to work with my mind at ease knowing that dad is home with the boys. You and your family will be ok!
Awesome story! God is so good all the time! He knows our needs and even our wants , He will provide for us all no matter what!
Thank you so much for sharing this story, it really made my morning!
Katie
Isn’t God awesome? I had a similar situation this week. We are preparing to travel to another country to adopt our 3rd child. We were made aware last week of an immediate financial need within our family and a horribly tragic situation. We felt led to send a specific amount of money to help. We took the money from our adoption fund, trusting that the Lord would replace it before we need it in about 4 weeks. Two days later some dear friends presented us with a check for TWELVE times the amount that we gave away. It is truly impossible to outgive God.
I don’t mean to imply that giving always results in this kind of situation. But, I do know that God always blesses glad-hearted obedience in one way or another.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Wow; this is so encouraging. God is good!
this is amazing!
If you really want something, it will appear to you.
start giving and live a life with the bless of God.
@Qingyang Li, yes and no. Trust in God does not result in a blank check. Sometimes God allows us to suffer for a bigger purpose. For our family, we’re still waiting to learn what that is.
Thank you Crystal and to everyone else for your testimony. I have personally had a very rough time since the birth of my son on July 1st, (hospitalized for PPD, he’s unable to breastfeed which breaks my heart because I nursed my daughter for 3 years). Reading things like this brings hope to my heart for God’s many blessings to all of us.
@Milk Donor Mama, Hang in there Milk Donor Mama. Sorry you’re having a rough time.
My heart goes out to you! I’ve had such a hard time with PPD over the last year — so I can somewhat relate, though everyone’s experience with PPD is different). But I can only imagine how it must break your heart about your son being unable to breastfeed! Email me if you ever need a listening ear or encouragement.
@Milk Donor Mama, I understand…I breastfed my older two with no problem. I don’t know what happened with my third child. My milk supply was low and he simply wasn’t getting enough. It was SO HARD to give my child formula! It broke my heart. But, now I can be understanding. God places us where he needs and wants us. I can be an encouragment to other moms when needed. Enjoy your little one and don’t feel guilty (I know I did!). My little one (almost two) is happy, healthy and growing like a weed! 🙂
Oh this is so true!!!!
We started a busniess and gave the 1st paycheck to a missionary couple friend of ours. Soon after was tax return time, and we got the exact same amount back from taxes, which was way more than what we had planned on. What you sew is what you reap. We use that saying a lot, “you can’t out give God” quite frequently at our church!
I so needed to read this tonight.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful blessing.
You are right, God works in mysterious ways.
Loved this post! and LOVED all the comments. So inspiring. I believe Heavenly Father delights in blessing us. I hope to give back as much!
This is wonderful! Our God is so awesome!
I had th opprotunity to meet a lady who had just had a baby … I had some thing from my son (10 months old bow) that she could use. I felt like I should put some cash in the gift as well, not having much and my husbands work checks being offset the next three week gave me some concern but I put a 20 in the bag and gave it to her. She was so touch and really needed
the money for gas. The next day my mother in law gave me a 20 out of no where. So my faithfulness to the Lord prompting paid off. 🙂
Wonderful article, Crystal! I have such a hard time giving because I am always judging people(WHY do they need this item? WHY are they poor-did they make bad decisions? WHY do they deserve this item?), and I feel that I really need to pray about this and be more generous no matter the reason for the need..just simply because I DO have the resources to share and give way more then I do. Thank you.
@Cilicia, I struggle with the same thing. While I love to give, and so does my husband, it is sometimes a stretch for me because I am afraid that the money I give will be wasted. It’s totally a control issue on my part! We are so careful with money, I want to be sure it’s used wisely when it leaves my grasp – which is completely unrealistic. Will this person waste it? Will they use it to get what they need . . . or use it on goodness knows what?
This has really hit home with me since I have befriended a very needy woman at church. She struggles with numerous issues, and our church provides her housing. She has expressed a spirit of ungratefulness to me about this – even though our church is going through tough times right now and has had to let go of some staff, they continue to provide for this woman who doesn’t seem to understand that she would be HOMELESS without the generosity of te church! We have always been faithful tithers but after I experienced her attitude it took a huge leap of faith to write that check to church, knowing where a portion of it was going. I felt like she was taking advantage of the church and it was very wrong of her to complain. People lost their JOBS at church, yet she is still being cared for. My human, judgmental mind had a hard time understanding that.
My husband and I have continued to give even after this knowledge but it was tough! I felt that my heart had hardened and I didn’t like that. It was hard to write that check knowing we weren’t in control of the use of it. Shortly after this, God met an *incredible* financial need for us, far more than we could ever give right now. I’m telling you, it was HUGE. I could have never forseen it happening. It has blessed our family in such an incredible, life-changing way. !!!
Really I think giving is just to challenge us to be the giver, and to give graciously and generously, no matter what. After all, God trusts us with our money, and I wish I could say I use every penny totally wisely but I don’t! Yet God blesses us anyway. He delights in giving to his children, and He delights in seeing us grow in generosity, and grow trust in Him to provide “far more than we could ever ask or imagine”.
@Marlene, Very well put, Marlene! Thank you for that! 🙂
Praise God from whom all blessings flow!!
There is quite a difference in giving joyfully and dutifully.
We recently purchased an iMac and the promotion was a free (after rebate) iPod touch. I was so excited. Save $200 right how awesome is that? Nevermind the fact my husband and I both have iPhones so this was a bonus we weren’t sure how to use. Sell, give, or allow our
daughter to keep so she can play her games on long car trips and I can keep my phone. Well
prior to even receiving the iPod in the mail a family member expressed a ‘need’ for a device like this.
I was being so greedy I didn’t want to share my ‘deal’ with anyone. I would have have given $200 for him to buy a new one, but didn’t want to let go of my bargain and the joy of getting something for free. How crazy is this? I know.
My husband, who is a much more joyful giver than I, assured me this is what we were
supposed to do, but the decision was mine. I
agreed, but gave out of duty and a feeling of
obligation.
It’s a real shame and a call to my knees that I couldn’t see that I could bless someone with my ‘bargain’ and that be the greatest deal of it all.
It so important to see the big picture everyday and be reminded it’s not about how much money we save or how much we got paid in overage to buy something. Thank you Crystal for reminding all of us we serve a great God and he blesses us and is proud when we bless others with a joyful heart!
@Amy, Hi Amy, I just read your post and wanted to say how impressed I am with you. You are so humble to share your story. The fact is that you did give and you recognize the difference between giving joyfully and dutifully. I think you are a better person for learning and knowing this, many people would not recognize the difference or feel guilty over it because after all, they gave. I sometimes feel that people give in hopes that they’ll get something in return, and I sure hope I’m strong enough to give for the sake of others and not in hopes I’ll get something in return. I can also see how someone ‘needing’ an ipod doesn’t sound like much of a ‘need’ so I still think you were quite generous! I have sometimes felt non-joyfully about giving when I’ve given to someone I thought was in need only to find out they were going on vacation or doing other things with their money. Then I felt guilty because it was none of my business, I should give because I want to help and try not to judge, but it can creep up on me. Thank you for sharing your story!
Thank you so much for sharing your story!! My Pastor was just speaking about tithing this past Sunday. God is good all the time–you just have to believe in him and he will show himself in your life.
I completely agree with the comments above…you can’t take it with you so share, help, and give whenever you can. 🙂
I love these stories too and find it so encouraging to read the stories people have shared!
When we were first married we had just 1 (paid for) car. When it became apparent that we needed a second car in order for us both to get to work we started praying about what to do as we weren’t wanting to take on a car payment.
Within a couple days an older man at the church we were attending told us he was “selling” his car for $1 if we were interested. !!!
It was such an awesome foundation to our marriage and the Lord has really laid on our hearts that we should give away our cars when we are done with them rather than try to sell them. We have done it twice so far and are getting ready to do it a third time and it really is such a joy to give knowing how incredibly thorough our God is in taking care of our needs!!
I love those promptings. The most recent one was a few weeks ago. One of the Chicago cops killed recently, this one on July 7, was my neighbors’ brother/son. Devastation isn’t the word. My boss is doing the breast cancer walk this weekend. I wanted to donate since her board scroll looked mighty empty at first. I thought of giving one amount then thought nope, half. Then thought (God’s nudge) nope has to be the original amount, no less will do. Back and forth. I gave the original amount as one of my donations in his memory. I get home from work later and in the mail was a check from a very unexpected source for 66c over that exact amount. You truly can’t outgive God.
Last summer while I was pregnant with our 2nd daughter, my husband lost his job out of the blue. It was a total shock. We lost our health insurance and didnt know when/if unemployment would kick in. Within 2 wks. he landed a fantastic job in Texas. Im still here in NC, trying to sell our house and havent gotten any good offers, so I dont know what we will do. Up until now, his employer has paid all living expenses,but they are cutting that off, because its going on a year now. I just pray that our marriage is strong enough to uphold this situation. God works in strange ways sometimes,but he didnt want us to go without so he blessed us by getting my husband a once in alifetime job. However we arent together as a family. Hoping that changes one day soon too.
@Sheryl Sullivan, hang in there. Just remember, when God brings you back together, it will be all the more meaningful!
thank you!
That’s awesome! Thanks for sharing. God is amazing.
this just gave me chills!
Gosh, I am receiving such a striong message-several on fb and throughout my day-to GIVE! I cannt believe how much this theme has recurred all day to me. I need to do something about it to show God my thankfullness. God helps those who help themselves…Crystal, people like you and others put such effort into what you do and God sees it. For when you help yourself, you also help others in so many direct and indirect ways. God sees Integrity, Empathy and he just knows. Finding joy in giving and serving others is such a great gift. I think that when we can be happy in just knowing we have helped another-even if only offering a smile or holding a door for someone-the smallest things…we can be happy without the material things.
I feel so spoiled sometimes and know I could do without these things, but it is so hard to let go of the ‘candy’ when you have had it in your hands! Good job girl. Happy for you and your friends and family!
We just finished up VBS week with the kids giving an offering each day. They challenged the kids to fill up the bank for disaster relief. Both of my kids asked and took their own money from their banks with my five-year-old filled up her pockets to overflowing each day. In four days, the church took in an offering of $1400. The kids also did daily mission projects with the little ones making door hangers, school supply bags, etc. while the big kids took the craft projects to meals on wheels clients and underprivileged kids. It was such a blessing to see the kids really understand where the money and what they were doing in class really meant.
Awesome stuff, Crystal!! I hope that we can all instill in our kids the desire to follow the Holy Spirit’s prompting to give — not just because it makes us “feel good inside”. Christianity is all about sacrifice. Sometimes the bigger and better version comes in the mail, sometimes not. May we be faithful to respond to that stirring in our hearts without ever expecting or even anticipating a tangible blessing!!!
God is so good if we just trust in Him!
what a great story & reminder to us all about generosity and what a real “deal” is–salvation, and the generosity of our Father. thanks for sharing… 🙂
Amen!
God called me today too – Milwaukee Rescue Mission called for donations, since giving is WAY down. I felt rude for interrupting the woman calling, but I quickly just said, “We’ll give $100. Can you send me an envelope?”
She about cried when I said that – she told me I was the first person to say yes on her shift, and she had been working since noon (she called at 4ish pm). Give, because you can’t take it to Heaven. Give, because God gave Everything so we could say we have more than nothing. Give…because it is just the right thing to do.
tfs such a great story.
God is good, all the time. All the time, God is good. Thanks for the reminder!
@Carrie, My pastor says that all the time!! Cool quote!
It’s so awesome when we listen to God then get to see how He works in our lives. God is truly amazing! Rose
I love to read stuff like this. An old baptist hymn composed by the late Doris Akers simple says “You can’t beat God’s giving no matter how hard you try.” It is sooo true.
I also want to add that my folks always taught us five kids that “any old pipe will do”. God wants us to be conduits of His blessings to others. My folks have been the “pipes” that God has used to bless many and I cannot tell you what it meant to grow up watching their example. May you always include your kids in this process so they will, in turn, see how the Lord provides and understand that EVERYTHING we have is given to us by HIM to be used for HIS GLORY. It’s a tremendous gift to your kids – says one who learned by example. Okay…again, thanks for sharing! Blessings!
I love these kinds of stories! They remind me God is at work in the big AND small parts of our lives.
In college, I really wanted to go on a missions trip for the summer, but my car died in the drive way (it was only SIX years old!). My mom wanted me to stay home for the summer and work towards a new car, but I desperately felt God tugging me to go. She said, “Well then $3,000 will just have to fall out of the sky.”
The next day I was fasting and praying, and when I got back from my lunch break I had an email congratulating me on winning a $3,000 scholarship! What??! God works in crazy, exciting ways sometimes.
I have personally experienced this – both as a child (watching my parents give and receive) and as a married adult. God leads and prompts us and then shows us His abundant blessings and love. Sometimes we get the items/money back 10-fold, sometimes He simply uses it to teach us about faith and following Him. Either way, it has always been, in my experience, more of a blessing (whether I get the item/money back or not) to follow my Father and to put aside more of myself. Thanks so much for sharing – it’s a blessing to read!
Thanks for sharing this story. It really can be overwhelming when you consider just how much God knows our every need and provides. Sometimes it’s exactly what we need and sometimes it’s more than we could ever imagine. What a blessing to serve our mighty Lord.
The Lord works in mysterious ways, and his plan for us is always evolving and unfolding.
“Every gift and ever perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father” James 1:17
My husband and I were just talking about giving out of our own needs. Thanks for sharing!!!
That is so great! AMEN. GOD is so good.
I know a lot of people have a hard time with the concept of tithing but my experience has been that when you are faithful to give, God is even more faithful to bless. Our pastor always said that God doesn’t need our money but *we* need to give – so true!
I agree! We’ve been amazed at how God has multiplied the 90% when we’ve committed to give Him the firstfruits!
I love hearing God stories like this. Our God is always bigger than our needs.
We serve one great God!
Thanks so much for sharing, and for listening to God’s prompting! It is such a blessing and a wonderful reminder that we can’t out-give him!
I saved so much this year buying school supplies(ty MSM). That I decided to purchase all the school supplies for a single mom. It feels so good to bless others when God has blessed my family with plenty.
How cool! Thank you for sharing — and for following God’s prompting to bless a single mom!
Thanks for your story. What a great reminder of how God is the giver of everything. How we should look for more opportunties to give, give, give.
Crystal, thank you SO MUCH for sharing this and not being afraid to mention God on your blog! How wonderful that you can see His work in your life in such a tangible way.
I have found out that you can’t outgive God!! He is faithful and just and certainly takes care of His children.
That is awesome as is God, thank you for sharing!!
God is good all the time! Thank you for sharing.
Great story. Thanks for sharing!
Amen!
God is everywhere! God is with us any munite, any seconds!
God is SO GOOD!
Thanks for posting this! It is so nice to be reminded there are others out there who listen for and follow our Heavenly Father! What an encouragement to me and others… and you are so right, you can’t outgive God!
Thank you for sharing this story. I have also been the recipient of God’s AMAZING generosity and I love it when I read of others who have also experienced it. He never ceases to amaze me with the way He works in our lives. I am so glad that you listened to Him so that you were able to be blessed in that special way. He never fails. Rose
Thanks for sharing! I feel blessed to follow this site!
Isn’t it wonderful what GOD does when we listen to him. And I have found when I don’t listen, I am reminded daily until I come to my senses. lol!
ok i am in tears! our God just doesnt stop, he is every present!! love seeing how he moves:)
Very encouraging! I have to get into that mind frame. I’m a new couponer and right now I am constantly missing deals because I don’t get to the stores early in the week or hoarding the items I do get. Thank you for sharing your story. I think I need to go to my cabinet and give some stuff to our food pantry!
@Sean, It takes time. You’ll get there. I feel like I am starting over from scratch because we emptied out all of our cupboards and freezer, fridge from being on vacation. I keep using up all of my grocery budget because I am having to stock up on all these essentials again.
Thank you for posting such a beautiful reminder!!! So true!!!
Yes!!! Good is good all the time!
Your story touched my heart and I want to thank you for listening to his voice and then telling us about it 🙂
This Brought tears to my eyes God is good all the time!!!
this reminded me of your precious story:
One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withhold unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes other will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11:24-25
Praise the Lord! Thanks for sharing.
Wow, that’s so neat!! God is so good!!
That’s amazing! God is awesome!
Isn’t that just like God though?
Last summer, my son ate hot dogs and BBQ sauce at nearly every meal (you know what 2 years old are like!!). We had run out of both items at lunch and although we had the money to be able to buy them, we weren’t sure how we were going to be able to get to the store without too much hassle before the next day when he would want to eat them again. I prayed silently about it and went on with my day. That night, I went to a bunco party. The theme was backyard BBQ, and we all had to bring an item that corresponded with the theme for the traveling prize. I won the prize that night and didn’t think too much of it when I loaded the bag of items into my car. When I got home and started looking through that bag with my husband, guess what we found…that’s right…HOT DOGS and BBQ SAUCE!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 🙂 Aren’t you so thankful we serve a Lord who cares about the little things like that?!? Thanks for sharing Crystal…these reminders are so good for us! 🙂
Amy,
thank you for your story. It was a delight to read.
@Amy, We had the same thing happen with diapers last month. We had $5 in the bank and had just moved into a new house. Used the last diaper at nap time and I prayed because I knew that God knew I needed diapers for night time. My husband came home with the mail and a check that was not to come for another month that covered the cost of diapers. God is so awesome.
Love your story!! God is AWESOME!!!
Thanks for sharing! Isn’t it always so cool when we trust God with the seemingly little things in our lives — and He proves Himself yet again faithful!
Our hands can never be open to receive the blessings God have for us, if we cling so tightly to what we already have. Thanks for sharing, He is faithful. Imagine how he feels when he blesses us, if we feels so happy when we bless others! I love how He delights in us. 🙂
Love it!
This is such a great blessing to me. It makes me think about how often we ignore or push away the prompting of God. Not only do we miss out on blessing someone else, but more importantly we miss the blessing ourselves. Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for sharing as it is such a good reminder God’s faithfulness!
Crystal,
Thanks for sharing! Experiencing God work is amazing, but so is seeing/hearing about His work in others lives. LOVE IT!
So, so sweet!!! God is amazing, isn’t He? Thank you soo very much for sharing. Love it!!
Amen, sister!!
It’s true! My husband gave our second car to his brother who was suddenly out of a car due to a huge tree falling on his car and totaling it. He felt very much lead by the Lord to give him our car. The car he gave had been given to us a few years ago. It was a big step of faith to trust God for a second car for us now and buying a used one with a car payment. My husband’s father heard about what he did and gave us $2500 toward a new car. He, then, found a Dodge Caravan van for $2700 at a used car dealership. After taxes and his dad’s gift, we paid $300 in cash for a new (to us!) van. It was so awesome, especially for my husband, to see God’s faithfulness to him for his step of faith giving.
Thank you Crystal! You always give me some great reminders and stories that make me smile.
this made me cry. God is so good to us!
This story “Giving” is wonderful.
I’m so pleased to see stories about God in our lives here. You gave me such joy in sharing this story with your readers. Thanks for lifting my heart by showing once again how we need to trust in the Lord!
God Bless
Mary Lou
It’s great how God work’s! When I was at Mass one day while I was in college (and working two jobs to put myself through) I felt that God was calling me to give my last five dollars to the second collection for the poor. I didn’t know how I was going to eat for the rest of the week but God had put that on my heart- that there were people with less than me that needed my money more than I did–Anyway, the next day I went to my mailbox to find that someone I barely knew had sent me 20.00!
Funny how God works….
Thank you for sharing your story — and for giving so generously!
What a great story, Crystal. It is a great reminder that God always knows what is best for us.
Crystal, thank you for sharing this experience!! I have missed seeing more of your personal stories and testimonies on your blog! Our Father in Heaven is so mindful of us and loves to show us the miracle that comes when we realize that His children are so much more important than things.
@Antoinette, I agree with Anntoinette’s comment. Miss hearing your personal stories. I’ve been a follower of your blog back when it was Biblical Womanhood. And these kinds of stories are the best!
Thank you for sharing your wonderful story. 🙂 It was very uplifting for me today.
What an encouraging story! God does indeed have our best interest at heart… and He just wants us to TRUST HIM!!
God is so amazing! And He loves to bless our obedience. 🙂
I LOVE how God works!!!!! He is so merciful.
What a blessing!!!!
@Rachel, http://www.bizybeemoms.com helps mothers find what they are looking for!